泥どろ沼ぬま

also: ドロぬま

ど

ろ

ぬ

ま

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

Literal muddy wetland; often implies a place difficult to walk through or get out of.

よう

に

なっ

て

い

た

。

The road had turned into a quagmire after the rain.

2

quagmire; morass; dire situation

Only with reading どろぬま / ドロぬま

Figurative use: a difficult, entangled situation from which it is hard to escape. Often used with verbs like はまる (get stuck in) or 抜け出す (get out of).

泥どろ沼ぬまにはまるto get stuck in a quagmire (situation)
二人ふたりの関かん係けいは泥どろ沼ぬまにはまってしまった。
Their relationship got stuck in a quagmire.
泥どろ沼ぬまから抜ぬけ出だすto get out of a quagmire (situation)
彼かれは借しゃっ金きんの泥どろ沼ぬまからようやく抜ぬけ出だした。
He finally managed to escape the debt quagmire.
泥どろ沼ぬまの〈事こと〉a drawn-out, deadlocked (conflict, dispute, etc.)
両りょう国こくは泥どろ沼ぬまの戦せん争そうに陥おちいった。
The two countries fell into a protracted, unwinnable war.

沼ぬまN1sense 1
沼 is the plain, general word for a swamp or pond, while 泥沼 stresses the mud and the difficulty of getting out, both literally and figuratively.
苦く境きょう sense 2
苦境 is a general term for a difficult predicament, while 泥沼 vividly emphasizes being mired and unable to escape.
湿しっ地ち sense 1
湿地 is the neutral, geographic term for wetland, whereas 泥沼 highlights the muddy, treacherous nature of the ground.
ぬかるみ sense 1
ぬかるみ refers to a small patch of mud or mire on a path, while 泥沼 is a larger swamp and is more commonly used figuratively for a hopeless situation.

泥沼Usage95%
- どろぬま
  Standard kanji spelling for both literal and figurative senses.
- でいしょう
ドロ沼ぬまUsage5%
Katakana spelling emphasizing the figurative 'sticky situation' sense; often used in media.

Compound of 泥 (mud) and 沼 (swamp). The figurative sense developed from the image of being stuck in deep mud.

ドロぬま

でいしょう